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Letter from John P. Greene, 18 March 1843

Source Note

, Letter, , Erie Co., NY, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 18 Mar. 1843; handwriting and signature of ; four pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal notation, postal stamps, and dockets.
Bifolium measuring 10 × 8 inches (25 × 20 cm). The letter was inscribed on all four pages in blue ink, although made some insertions in black ink. The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, sealed with a red adhesive wafer, and postmarked. When the letter was opened, a hole was torn in the second leaf, resulting in the loss of some text on the recto of that leaf. The letter was later folded for storage.
The document was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and served as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854. , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1866, also docketed the letter, as did Andrew Jenson, who began working in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) in 1891 and served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941. The document was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  2. [2]

    Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  3. [3]

    Jenson, Autobiography, 192, 389; Cannon, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891; Jenson, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891 and 19 Oct. 1897; Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 47–52.

    Jenson, Andrew. Autobiography of Andrew Jenson: Assistant Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1938.

    Cannon, George Q. Journals, 1855–1864, 1872–1901. CHL. CR 850 1.

    Jenson, Andrew. Journals, 1864–1941. Andrew Jenson, Autobiography and Journals, 1864–1941. CHL.

    Bitton, David, and Leonard J. Arrington. Mormons and Their Historians. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1988.

  4. [4]

    “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [2], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

  5. [5]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 18 March 1843, wrote a letter from , New York, to JS in , Illinois, reporting on the condition of the of the in Buffalo and asking whether JS wanted him to keep preaching there. On 29 August 1842, JS had held a special with church leaders and of the church, in which told the group “that every Elder who can, should now go forth to every part of the ,” both to combat accusations former church member was making about JS and to “preach the gospel, repentance, & salvation.” The following day, Greene received a letter of commendation from , , and , and he then departed for the eastern United States. In the first part of December, Greene reached Buffalo, where he stayed for nine days and organized a branch. Apostle then placed Greene in charge of the conference held in in western and instructed him “to visit all the branches east as far as [he] could.” In February, Greene returned to Buffalo and remained there to preach the gospel and oversee the branch.
In his 18 March 1843 letter to JS, featured here, reported on his missionary labors in and asked for news from . He mailed the letter on 21 March from . Mail took two or three weeks to travel between New York and , so the letter probably arrived in Nauvoo between early and mid-April. That the letter was received in Nauvoo is attested by ’s docket on the letter. On 9 May, Greene informed that he had received no reply from JS. Greene, who was accompanied by his wife, , and their baby daughter, Mary Emma, stayed in the eastern through the summer and returned to Nauvoo in October 1843.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 29 Aug. 1842; see also “Joseph Smith Documents from May through August 1842.”

  2. [2]

    Greene, “Biographical Sketch of the Life and Travels of John Portenus Greene,” 4.

    Greene, Evan Melbourne. “A Biographical Sketch of the Life and Travels of John Portenus Greene,” 1857. CHL. MS 15390.

  3. [3]

    John P. Greene, Buffalo, NY, to “Dear and Loved Children,” Illinois, Feb. 1843, typescript, CHL.

    Greene, John P. Letter, Buffalo, NY, to “Dear and Loved Children,” Nauvoo, IL. Feb. 1843. Typescript. CHL. MS 3137.

  4. [4]

    John P. Greene, Buffalo, NY, to Brigham Young, Nauvoo, IL, 9 May 1843, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL.

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

  5. [5]

    An August 1842 letter James Arlington Bennet sent to JS from New York took a little over three weeks to reach Nauvoo, while a letter Bennet sent in September 1842 arrived in Nauvoo in thirteen days. (Historical Introduction to Letter from James Arlington Bennet, 16 Aug. 1842; Historical Introduction to Letter from James Arlington Bennet, 1 Sept. 1842.)

  6. [6]

    John P. Greene, Buffalo, NY, to Brigham Young, Nauvoo, IL, 9 May 1843, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL.

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

  7. [7]

    Greene, “Biographical Sketch of the Life and Travels of John Portenus Greene,” 5.

    Greene, Evan Melbourne. “A Biographical Sketch of the Life and Travels of John Portenus Greene,” 1857. CHL. MS 15390.

Page [3]

in all my life than I have since left me in this reagion to take care of the whole and while in this little whare they all (like dutiful children to a faithful father) look to <​me​> for instructions & will Swallow evrey thing that <​I​> teach them & run after the prinsiples of life as <​an​> ox drinketh dow[n] water when he is dry— & all most every body look to the mormons for to reconcile many passageus of scrpture, & no one that which all serve to make me feell my dependenc the more on the lord & to the feel to the graterer need of receiveing the word at thy mouth.— & my dear brother do pray for me that the lord will abide with me untill I am permited to come home & recieve his will at thy mouths! when lift me he instru[c]ted to proceede on to the East after our conferance & visit all the branches I could & hold conferances where it was needed. & instruk the saints the neissity [necessity] of contribiting to the building of the , & the as also of a speady — this is my intention at p[r]esent but I think there should <​be​> a sutable Elder left in this place: as we have gotten a foot hold in this grate dapo [depot] we aught hold ourer claims, & assurt our wrights in which all important points as this is, important to the Saints both in the east & in the west in the sam[e] propo[r]tion as it might facilitate in the gathering as in other— matters of importance, I wish you to instrut me on this point particulurly & in all matters that may seem wisdom to you for I have but one interest that is to build up & am at the disposial of the authoroties <​that​> bee in the , & if you wish to have me stay in through the summer I will do so— but if y[ou] would have me go on in the Sp[r]ing & visit the branches: you have only to write me your will— which I shall exspect you will do soon after you receive thils [this]— I want to hear from the home of the saints how the two houses are coming for ward & how all the work prospers in its different, branches! as also what the antimormons are at since their defeat on the claim & the repeals of Charters: (o thank God for I will prays [praise] him in the congragations of the saints) I have many thing to say to you but cannot now: only the winter has been very scerous [serious] in the — the ground has been coverd with snow since the 18. day of Novr. & good— Slaying [sleighing] all the time with the excepttions of the snow drifts & the last week since the 15 of March— has been some the most severe Snow & winds that I ever expureanced, it is said the Ice is now three feet thick in the lake! this cold ha[r]sh wind seriously affects my lungs & I think has Injoured my helth, my & littler dauter Mary Emma [Greene], Joine in their respects to youre self & most ameable & famely— & wishes she was at this time injoyinig the selubruous zephirs of youre [delightful] . & dear Sir I am with the warmest respect yours in the bonds of the
Joseph Smith prophet of the most high God
NB, Show this to Br I should of written to him now but it is hard getting money to pay postage & will not send with out ourer love to and all the ; (yis to gods people). I wish they would send me both Papers to this place— & tell them we shall have some subscriptions for them this spring, the work of Lord is prosperin in this reagion as far as I have hered, <​also remember me to & family & wish to be remember in his prarys​> [p. [3]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from John P. Greene, 18 March 1843
ID #
1016
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:75–81
Handwriting on This Page
  • John P. Greene

Footnotes

  1. [12]

    TEXT: Insertion in black ink.

  2. [13]

    The Batavia conference took place on 25 December 1842. (John P. Greene, Buffalo, NY, to “Dear and Loved Children,” Illinois, Feb. 1843, typescript, CHL.)

    Greene, John P. Letter, Buffalo, NY, to “Dear and Loved Children,” Nauvoo, IL. Feb. 1843. Typescript. CHL. MS 3137.

  3. [14]

    In the August 1842 meeting in Nauvoo that directed elders of the church to “go forth to every part of the United States,” Hyrum Smith counseled the departing elders to solicit donations for the construction of the Nauvoo temple and to obtain subscribers for stock in the Nauvoo House. At a conference Greene and Wight held in Olive Green, Ohio, in October 1842, Greene “call[ed] on the saints to step forth and obey the commandments of the Lord, by building the Temple, and the Nauvoo House, which would be done by the gathering of the saints, and the tithings and consecrations of the Lord’s people.” (JS, Journal, 29 Aug. 1842; Minutes, Olive Green, OH, 17 Oct. 1842, in Times and Seasons, 15 Dec. 1842, 4:36.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  4. [15]

    TEXT: “y[page damaged]”. Missing text has been supplied from context.

  5. [16]

    That is, the Nauvoo House and the Nauvoo temple. (Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:22–24, 26–31].)

  6. [17]

    In the wake of attempts by Missouri officials to extradite JS to Missouri in 1842 because of Lilburn W. Boggs’s accusation that JS was complicit in his attempted assassination, JS submitted to arrest in December 1842. He appeared before Judge Nathaniel Pope of the United States Circuit Court for the District of Illinois in January 1843; the judge ordered that he be discharged from arrest. The Illinois state legislature also debated repealing the Nauvoo charter or amending some of its provisions during its thirteenth general assembly, and the Illinois House of Representatives passed a bill repealing some measures. The Illinois Senate, however, failed to act on the bill before the legislative session closed in early March. (See “Part 1: March 1843.”.)

  7. [18]

    Greene married his second wife, Mary Eliza Nelson Greene, on 6 December 1841. Their daughter, Mary Emma, was born on 8 January 1843. (Greene, “Biographical Sketch of the Life and Travels of John Portenus Greene,” 4; John P. Greene, Buffalo, NY, to “Dear and Loved Children,” Illinois, Feb. 1843, typescript, CHL.)

    Greene, Evan Melbourne. “A Biographical Sketch of the Life and Travels of John Portenus Greene,” 1857. CHL. MS 15390.

    Greene, John P. Letter, Buffalo, NY, to “Dear and Loved Children,” Nauvoo, IL. Feb. 1843. Typescript. CHL. MS 3137.

  8. [19]

    Greene was married to Rhoda Young, Brigham Young’s sister, until her death in 1841. (Greene, “Biographical Sketch of the Life and Travels of John Portenus Greene,” 1, 4.)

    Greene, Evan Melbourne. “A Biographical Sketch of the Life and Travels of John Portenus Greene,” 1857. CHL. MS 15390.

  9. [20]

    Two newspapers were published in Nauvoo—the Times and Seasons, which dealt mainly with matters of interest to church members, and the Wasp, which dealt mainly with secular news. (Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:91–96, 192–193.)

    Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.

  10. [21]

    TEXT: Insertion in black ink.

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